Steroid-Fueled Attack On Jan. 6 Lands MD Man Prison Time

WASHINGTON, DC — A Carroll County man was sentenced to five years in prison Friday after he assaulted and threw a smoke grenade at police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Rodney Kenneth Milstreed, 56, of Finksburg, “prepared himself for battle” on Jan. 6 by injecting steroids for weeks and arming himself with a four-foot wooden club disguised as a flagpole, prosecutors said.

Milstreed pleaded guilty in April to assaulting officers with a deadly weapon and possessing an unregistered firearm, according to the Department of Justice. A judge also sentenced him to 24 months of supervised release and ordered him to pay $2,000 in fines.

According to court documents, before Jan. 6, 2021, Milstreed attempted to recruit friends to join him at a "Stop The Steal" rally held by former President Donald Trump. procured a wooden club, injected steroids, and worked out to get "jacked" ahead of the rally. According to prosecutors, Milstreed told others that he was prepared to "crack some skulls" at the Capitol.

On Jan. 6, Milstreed carried a four-foot-long club disguised as a flag to the Capitol where he and others swarmed police officers and broke through a police line.

During the fighting, prosecutors said Milstreed grabbed and yanked on a bike rack barrier fence police were using to prevent the mob from advancing toward the Capitol. Milstreed also located a smoke grenade police had deployed to disburse the crowd and threw it back into the police line.

Prosecutors said Milstreed threw the club at a police line and struck an officer in the head. He also assaulted an Associated Press journalist

Milstreed was arrested in May 2022 in Colorado, where he had been working. He pleaded guilty in April to assault charges and possessing an unregistered firearm.

A cache of weapons and ammunition found at Milstreed's Maryland home included an unregistered AR-15 rifle. In his Colorado hotel room, investigators found 94 vials of what appeared to be illegal steroids.

During his sentencing, a prosecutor showed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg videos of Milstreed's attacks outside the Capitol. Milstreed told the judge that it was painful to watch his violent acts and hear his combative language that day.

“I know what I did that day was very wrong,” he said.

Capitol Police Officer Devan Gowdy suffered a concussion when Milstreed hurled his wooded club at a line of officers.

“January 6th is a day that will be burned into my brain and my nightmares for the rest of my life,” Gowdy told the judge. “The effects of this domestic terrorist attack will never leave me.”

Gowdy told Milstreed that he “will always be looked at as a domestic terrorist and traitor” for his actions on Jan. 6.

“That brings me some peace,” added Gowdy, who has since left the police department.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.